Palestine is secular... "I don’t want sheets separating streets in Jerusalem and I don’t want gender-segregated schools. I don't advocate for a Muslim state, a Christian state, a Jewish state, or a Scientologist state, but rather for a state with equality for all regardless of gender or faith..."

"... The Palestine I know is a place where Christians and Muslims are equal. My mother, a Muslim village girl, attended a Catholic girls’ school in Ramallah, and my refugee husband spent the Second Intifada side by side with his Christian brothers from Bethlehem. Some areas are conservative, some are not. My mom wore mini-dresses in the 1960's and I have run around our hood in tank tops my whole life. Palestine is secular. Whether Hamas likes it or not, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Charter states just that, and states that the only body allowed to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians is the PLO. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has control over every aspect of Palestinians' daily lives, from water access to the right to life. Hamas has no actual authority, yet they keep forcing new laws." Maysoon Zayid

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/04/don-t-tread-on-my-hair-hamas.html

The author's mother is pictured wearing one of her mini-dresses in Palestine in 1961. (Courtesy of Maysoon Zayid)

Don’t Tread On My Hair, Hamas